Moms of opioid victims organize letter-writing campaign

MARLBOROUGH – Betty Pariseau is on a mission to ensure President Donald Trump sees the faces of her son Matthew and the thousands of other victims of the opioid crisis that is crippling the nation.

Hopeless and distraught in the months after 38-year-old Matthew – a father of two – died on Feb. 17, 2017, Pariseau didn’t know where to turn. She spent most of her days going to bed immediately after coming home from work.

“I was numb when I went to (do) anything,” said Pariseau, of Brockton.

The grief-stricken mother of four joined the Team Sharing Facebook group – a community of parents that have lost a child from substance abuse . Marlborough’s Cheryl Juaire started the group two years ago after her son Corey Merrill died from an overdose in 2011.

Pariseau got the idea to organize a letter-writing campaign, encouraging parents who have lost a child to the opioid epidemic to pen a letter with their story, attach a photo of their loved one and mail it to the White House and governors across the country. The letters should be mailed Feb. 10 to arrive simultaneously on Feb. 14. She was unsure how to get the campaign off the ground and contacted Juaire.

The plan was posted on the Team Sharing Facebook site and has gone viral among online support groups. It’s been shared 664 times.

“I don’t think either one of us expected to see what it’s doing,” said Juaire.

The pair hope the campaign will be an eye-opening call for more funding for rehab programs and treatment beds and put a face on the disease. Across the country, 174 people die each day from opioid overdoses.

“The numbers are very important, but the faces of the people in the prime of their lives (who died) are lost,” said Pariseau. “When this year’s numbers come out, my son is one of them.”

Pariseau is enclosing a photo of her two grandchildren kneeling at the casket of their father with her letter.

“It’s a family tragedy – the children left behind,” she said.

The two mothers estimate that tens of thousands of letters will arrive at the White House and governors' offices on Feb 14.

“I picture the mailroom at the White House swamped, and if it gets swamped like that (Trump) is going to have to know,” said Pariseau. “We want them all delivered at the same time.”

The date the letters and photos arrive is symbolic for Juaire and Pariseau.

“That’s a day of love for everybody, but that’s a date of heartbreak for us,” said Juaire.

Pariseau and Juaire met in person for the first time Friday, but their palpable connection was that of longtime friends.

“There’s an instant bond (between parents who have lost a child),” said Juaire. “The strongest moms you will see are the ones who’ve lost kids.”

The pair advised parents whose children are struggling with addiction to get them enrolled in a treatment program and have a stable plan for when they get out. Support groups are also critical.

“Don’t take no for an answer from anybody,” said Pariseau. “I don’t care if you have to block the door.”

Pariseau and Juaire hope the stories of their sons and the thousands of other opioid victims will help others.